EDMONTON - As big as it is, the CFL Draft isn’t the most important thing that will happen to Curtis Dublanko this year.

On July 10, he will be marrying his high-school sweetheart, Laura Hammer.

The two both grew up on farms outside of Leduc and met while attending Leduc Composite high school.

“I recently got engaged, so I’m dealing with that, too, trying to plan a wedding,” said Dublanko, who is also preparing for final exams at the University of North Dakota. “I’ve got a lot going on.”

Regardless of where he ends up in Sunday’s draft, Dublanko will be returning to Grand Forks, N.D., to finish out his senior year with the Fighting Sioux.

“I’ll still be coming back here to North Dakota in the fall and playing in my senior year,” said Dublanko, who is studying accounting. “It’s important for me to finish my schooling and get my degree, but I’ve been here for four years and made a commitment to my team here. I’m not going to leave in my senior year. As of right now, this is where my priorities are.”

As such, he was forced to forego this CFL evaluation camp in March.

“Playing another year, being a starter and getting a lot of playing time, I can use this one year to learn and get better and grow physically as well to get me ready to play pro football,” he said.

When that happens, Dublanko will be following a pair of former Fighting Sioux teammates into the CFL. Receiver Weston Dressler and defensive back Donovan Alexander both play with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, while Dressler’s younger brother, Ryan, is currently a receiver with the Fighting Sioux.

The group has a definite advantage over their import-labelled teammates in North Dakota when it comes to the CFL.

“Everybody’s jealous,” Dublanko said. “They’re telling me they want to be Canadian so they can get drafted and go play in the CFL on a team here.”